Rogelio Butch Bagabuyo

Image Credit: Kamloops Collaborative Family Law Association

Kamloops lawyer Rogelio “Butch” Bagabuyo allegedly helped his former friend and client hide more than $700,000 in a divorce before killing him when the money ran out, according to Crown prosecutors.

Crown lawyer Ann Katrine Saettler said evidence in the multi-week trial will show alleged murder victim Mohd Abdullah tried for years to get that money back. With nothing to give, Bagabuyo planned and carried out Abdullah's murder in March 2022.

"Video evidence will show Mr. Abdullah last seen walking on Victoria Street towards the accused's office. Forensic evidence from the second-floor office will show blood spatter near the top of the staircase and the DNA of Mr. Abdullah," Saettler told the court Tueday, April 15.

The Crown will call a forensic expert to describe Abdullah's autopsy, which found the former Thompson Rivers University lecturer died from multiple stab wounds to his chest and neck, with at least one to the heart.

Saettler said Abdullah's emails, calendars and notes show he had tried since 2019 to recover the money, starting shortly after his ex-wife's death. Bagabuyo initially told Abdullah to wait two years due to the chance her family may try to regain at least some of it.

They met multiple times over the years and, until 2022, Abdullah paid the Bagabuyo "thousands of dollars, believing it was required to facilitate the return of his money," Saettler said.

"I expect the court will hear evidence to show Mr. Abdullah became increasingly frustrated and concerned about the delays in the return of his money, and he began to wonder if it would be returned," she said.

Saettler went on to say the money was likely spent. Bagabuyo used it for "living expenses" and had "little in the way" of other income, as will be described by a forensic accountant who traced the funds, she said.

"I expect she will testify Mr. Abdullah's money was gone," Saettler said. 

On March 11, 2022, they met at Bagabuyo's downtown office and video evidence after the alleged murder purportedly shows Bagabuyo rolling a tote to his SUV, then getting help from someone to load it inside.

He's accused of renting a van and enlisting an elderly friend for help to dispose of the large tote, looking to bury it outside the city but failing to find a location.

Abdullah's body was discovered in the rental van on March 17, 2022, and Bagabuyo was charged the next day with indignity to a dead body. A year later, he was charged with first-degree murder.

Bagabuyo's murder trial started in earnest Monday after he pleaded not guilty a day before. Prosecutors described and numbered nearly 60 of the evidence pieces they plan to use throughout the trial.

Saettler set out the Crown's case, describing what the evidence will show and a timeline of the events leading to and following the alleged murder. Their first witnesses took the stand in the morning session and continued into the afternoon.

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